new character. Gervais also contributed to the script for the season finale. Ray Romano, James Spader, Catherine Tate, Warren Buffett and Jim Carrey also appeared in the season finale. Reception Ratings The series aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. as part of Comedy Night Done Right television block. The season premiere, "Nepotism" received a 4.4/11 percent share in the Nielsen ratings among viewers aged 18 to 49, meaning that 4.4 percent of viewers aged 18 to 49 watched the episode, and 11 percent of viewers watching television at the time watched the episode. It was viewed by 8.4 million viewers, marking a slight increase in viewers from the sixth season premiere "Gossip". The season hit a low with the 16th episode, "Todd Packer", which was viewed by only 6.12 million viewers. Conversely, the season's 22nd episode, "Goodbye, Michael", was the highest-rated episode of the season, being watched by 8.42 million viewers. The finale, "Search Committee" was viewed by 7.29 million viewers, a marked increase from the sixth-season finale "Whistleblower" which garnered only 6.6 million viewers. For the 2010–2011 season, The Office ranked as the 53rd-most watched program, averaging a total of 7.731 million viewers. In the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, the show was the 11th-most watched television program of the broadcasting year. Critical reception This season received mostly positive reviews from television critics, with many claiming that it was an improvement over the sixth season. Cindy White of IGN gave the season an 8 out of 10, calling it "great." She felt that the departure of Steve Carell helped reinvigorate the series, as well to see the character of Michael evolve and mature over the course of the season naturally. She also noted that the show proved it could survive without Carell. She highlighted the episodes "Threat Level Midnight", "Garage Sale" and "Goodbye, Michael" as the best episodes of the season. Randy Miller III of DVD Talk felt that the majority of the season was "better than the sixth by a country mile" and that it was a "year that's still worth watching". He applauded the way the show was able to write-out Carell's character, noting that "Goodbye, Michael" combined "nostalgia, comedy and a little drama to get its point across". However, he was critical of several of the episodes that follow Carell's departure, and he called Ferrell's character a "full-blown psycho". Phillip Maciak of Slant Magazine awarded the season